Which Animation Software To Choose As A Beginner?

Well, have you wondered how do digital artists create all those magic using computers?

OR,

What kind of software do digital artists use to make an animation video?

Well, computer animation is fairly a complex, and it requires a lot of human resources and skills to develop a quality video which entertains the mass.

Renowned studios like Pixar and Disney have a whole team dedicated to one special task (for example – modeling). That might give you an idea of how complex an animation process can be, especially to make the animation for feature films like “Toystory” or “Incredibles”

Nevertheless, there’s always a place to start.

And, you may always choose to generalize and learn about all the aspects of animation (and be a concept artist or something)

Next point is that, specialization does not mean you do not ever try the software out of your forte.

It helps (and pays) to learn as much software about the industry you’re in.

2D vs 3D Animation

Before listing out the software, let’s know the basics about the 2D and 3D.

The kind of software that you choose to learn depends on the final kind of animation you want to build – 2D or 3D.

2D – Everything lies in the same plane.

3D – Almost resembles the real world – but shown on the 2D screen.

As a viewer, you can easily differentiate between a 2D creation and a 3D one. That does not mean, one is better over the others. Which one is better – is usually determined by the project goals and outcomes.

2D Animation Software (List)

Here is a list of few 2D animation software.

After Effects

Windows / Mac Price: $20.99 per month (Subscription)

After Effects is an industry standard software for 2D motion graphics videos.

Mainly, it’s for digital composition (often used as a complementary to video editing software like Premiere pro)

Almost all the motion graphics video (2D) you see on youtube is made using this software.

After Effects is used for VFX (visual effects) purpose as well. Although the major VFX studios would opt to use software like Nuke, After Effects can be an option in case we want it.

The animation is made using the help of keyframes, which means you need to specify a point in timeline, when you want something to change or stop changing.

Cool, right?

After all, it’s not necessary to change everything frame by frame.

Most professionals work frame by frame for very high quality work, though. Nonetheless, you can get up and running just playing with few keyframes.

Toon Boom Harmony

Windows / Mac Price: Starting from $23 per month (subscription)

Most Studio’s preference – Toon Boom Harmony is the most popular tool to make cartoon style animation.

From 2D character creation to animation, Toon Boom is really a powerful 2D animation software. However, for character building, most professionals in the industry would recommend using software like Adobe Illustrator.

Toon Boom Harmony would be an ideal option to use for animation shows for television.

The software comes in 3 different versions – essentials, advanced and premium. All these offer similar workflow, with the premium version being fully feature-rich version.

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